InstagramScreenshots of Desmond Marrow’s arrest.

A former college and pro football player was thrown to the ground onto his face while handcuffed by Georgia police officers, a video he posted on Instagramon Thursday shows. Few details about the incident were immediately available, including when it happened. Police in Henry County, Georgia, where the video was recorded, have not commented.

Desmond Marrow, a personal trainer and former University of Toledo football player who was briefly on NFL and CFL rosters, but never played a professional game, wrote on Instagram, “I only had my cell phone in my possession & they claimed to be scared for their lives. I had no type of weapon in my possession, I was arrested for having a gun that turned out to be my cell phone.” Marrow said he was arrested on felony charges, but details of the case were not immediately available. Public records in Henry County, Georgia, did not show any open cases in his name.

The video shows minute-long video, recorded by a bystander, shows two officers holding the 30-year-old Marrow by the arms, while he is handcuffed, in a parking lot. He walks toward the back of a pickup truck and the officers push him against it. He can be heard saying, “I’m not even fighting back,” as the one of officers lifts up his leg and slams him onto the ground onto his face. Marrow can be heard screaming, “I didn’t even do nothing to y’all,” as the three officers kneel over him. The man filming says, “This is unbelievable.”

One officer appears to put his hand near Marrow’s neck, and he screams repeatedly, “I can’t breath,” as another officer tells him to calm down, before the officer takes his hand away. The officers then lift Marrow up to his feet as the video ends. The video does not show what happened prior to the incident.

You can watch the video below:

Henry County Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Marrow could also not be reached. It is not clear if he has hired an attorney. Marrow did not say in the video when he was arrested. “***ATTENTION*** to anyone who views this post , #Share #Like …PLEASE HELP ME GET MY VOICE HEARD!!! I Was Falsely Arrested & taken into custody in #Atlanta #Georgia #HenryCounty by the Henry County Police,” he wrote on Instagram.

Marrow wrote, “During the arrest the police knocked my teeth out, slammed me on my head and choked me out until I was unconscious. In addition I suffered a shoulder strain and a concussion.” He also said that the incident caused his wife to leave him and said he has dealt with that heartache because of his, “Very Hard time for my short comings and careless actions. his has affected me mentally and impacted my life in a way I can’t even humanly describe . This isn’t a cry for sympathy, I just need it to be known . . . My cry is for JUSTICE.”

Desmond Marrow.

Marrow said when he was taken to jail, he was put into isolation because officers thought he was a gang member because of his tattoos. But he said their attitude changed when they learned he was a former football player and the incident was on video. He wrote on Instagram:

They threw me into isolation and labeled me a gang member because of my tattoos. I was fully cooperating with the officers with ZERO resistance. I thought I was going to die. I was sure I was passing out or dying when Officer #D.Rose was choking me as my breath kept slipping away. Henry county police dept was trying to keep me quiet, but once they found out I was a former #NFLplayer & there was a video of the incident did they then try to drop my charges. They were basically trying to get me to sell my soul in exchange for the video not being posted and they would drop all the felonies and clear my record. They said I was resisting arrest, being out of control, spitting and assaulting the Officers by head butting them. But GOD recorded it and I have PROOF! You know the truth take a lil longer to make it around lies travel faster 💯.

Marrow said he was “locked up” with “no bond, which gave me NO voice YOU guys are my voice I NEED your help.” He said the arrest has had a huge impact on his life, writing, “I been sleepin on the floor I can’t get a job with these #Felonies I lost my gym all my clients & training kids is my passion that’s ALL I wana do I can’t pay my child support I would love to see my son I’d take any type of love Bruh it’s real right now.”

Screenshots of Desmond Marrow’s arrest.

Marrow, a defensive back, played at the University of Toledo from 2006 to 2011, graduating with in 2010 with a degree in communication, according to the school’s website. He was on the pre-season rosters for the Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but never made the regular season roster or appeared in an NFL game. He also was briefly signed by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League, but also did not play a game for them. After his football career ended, Marrow became a fitness trainer and opened a gym in Youngstown, Ohio.

Marrow is a native of Youngstown, according to the Toledo football website. He is a graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School. His father, Duane Marrow, played college football at the University of Wisconsin, and his uncle, Vince, was an all-conference tight end and former assistant coach at Toledo. He spent six years with the Toledo football team because of injuries, graduating with one degree and then pursuing another during his final season.

FacebookDesmond Marrow.

Marrow signed with the Houston Texans after going undrafted in 2012, but was released during the pre-season. Marrow was then picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but again did not make the roster. He signed with the CFL’s Edmonton Eskimos in 2013, but was released in 2014. He has also played semi-pro football while starting his personal training career.

Marrow was interviewed by Sheen Magazine in 2016 about the gym he opened in Youngstown, called 3thirtyelite.

“I’ve spent pretty much my whole life being active. I was an athlete, playing football all the way to the NFL. So I have been working out and staying fit for a while now. I wanted to open a gym in Youngstown because I have a passion for the youth in our city and I wanted to give them something to believe in,” he told the magazine. “We offer classes like Yoga, Zumba, Pilates and Hip-Hop cardio. Our personal trainers cater to the client and focus on what they need and we try our best to help them on their journey.”

Desmond Marrow, holding the trophy on the right, after Toledo won the Military Bowl.

The video of Marrow’s arrest has been viewed more than 45,000 times on Instagram since it was posted Thursday, April 26, about 2 p.m. He also posted the video on Facebook, where it has been viewed more than 18,000 times. Marrow started a GoFundMe campaign called “Justice for Des Marrow,” which has raised just under $2,500 in seven hours. He wrote on the fundraiser site, “I am raising money to help pay for my doctors bills and expenses and to help rebuild a facility to train the hundreds of kids I have lost becuase [sic] of this traumatic event.”

The video has also attracted the attention of activists. Shaun King wrote on Twitter, while sharing the video with his followers, “He was cooperating. They then slammed him to the ground, knocked out his teeth, and began choking him until he passes out. This is former NFL player and personal trainer Desmond Marrow.”

TwitterDesmond Marrow.

Qasim Rashid wrote on Twitter, “This is police work? Or how slave catchers would beat down the enslaved? As he begs for mercy, Cops handcuff him, slam him to the car, then the ground, knock out his teeth, choke him—THEN ask ‘you ok?’😑”

Eric Prologo wrote on Twitter, “That’s my cousin his name is Desmond Marrow thank you for spreading the word this is crazy he worked real hard to get his own business going as a personal trainer and lost it all because of this bullsh*t they said his phone was a gun so now he has felony charges on him.”

John Eidemiller, who works at the University of Toledo, wrote on Twitter, “Des was one of my students at UT. Good guy. Was always very easy to get along with. I don’t know the circumstances of this incident, but it doesn’t seem like him. My heart goes out to him.”